Reset
by melodicResonance
Summary: One year after Neji's death-Tenten still has regrets about not telling him how she really feels about him, but despite everything still works to stay positive and strong. One day, a mysterious stranger gives her a chance to bring Neji back...but at a high cost. How far would you go to be with the one you love? Mainly NejiTen, but also has other pairings as well, like NaruHina.
1. Realization

**Realization**

_God…I hate not knowing what to believe anymore. I hate not knowing what's real._

_ Why did you have to leave me like this? Do you have any idea what you've done to me…ARE doing to me?_

_ But I can't be mad at you. I can't._

_ I just want you to come back. It's been a whole damn year, and I still haven't completely pulled myself together._

_ Please don't leave me like this_.

* * *

><p>It's almost been a year since then, Tenten thought to herself as she finally opened her eyes to the bright morning sun streaming in through the window. <em>Why am I dreaming of him now<em>?

But Tenten was no fool…she knew exactly why.

At first, she had been numb to the news. She couldn't believe that Neji—strong, cold, calculating, intelligent Neji—was truly gone.

Eventually, the reality of the situation bore down on her, and she cracked.

She wanted to say that she was doing better since then—but not exactly. She refused to be a burden to any of her friends, so she chose to bottle up her grief and hysteria—painting on a bright smile so that nobody would know.

Because of this, Tenten looked completely unaffected by her teammate's death to everyone else, when in reality she was falling apart, bit by bit. She refused to admit this to anyone but herself, and barely even that. She couldn't bear the thought of being perceived as so weak and fragile…all because of him.

She slowly sat up and reached down for her shoes.

_Am I really doing this_? Her hand brushed against the doorknob in slight hesitation, then firmly took hold of it and turned it open.

_Dammit, Neji…look what a mess you've made of me. I've officially lost my mind_.

* * *

><p>A sparrow nearby trilled out a song before taking flight. Tenten picked out his grave immediately—she always did. Before taking a seat in the damp grass, she glanced around to make sure that she was alone.<p>

"Look here, mister," she remarked, immediately turning towards the tombstone. "Do you have _any _idea how much of a fool you're making me out to be?

Of course, there was no answer to this, just the rustling of the breeze through the trees and grass around her. But that never stopped Tenten before.

"Neji Hyuuga, of course you have no idea. You're probably pointing down at me right now, laughing at how hopeless I am!"

After another moment of silence, suddenly she grew quieter, out of frustrated outbursts.

"Neji…I feel like absolute shit," she finally admitted, reaching up to touch the cool stone. "I thought I was getting better, really. And in some ways, I guess I am…but…none of that even matters. I still miss you." She sniffled, wiping away a tear on her face in embarrassment. "I don't mean to pin all of this blame on you, but…it is kind of your fault."

Tenten traced the outline of his name on the stone, feeling somewhat better. But she still felt very hollow inside.

She had more to say—so much more—but, like always, she couldn't say any of it. There was no point, anyway. It would change nothing.

"Um…Tenten?"

She knew that quiet voice anywhere. "Hinata? How long have you been here?" She slowly got to her feet and dusted off her hands nonchalantly, as if she hadn't been pouring out her heart and soul minutes earlier. She hated feeling this weak and helpless. Why let it be known to her friends—or anyone, for that matter?

"Oh, I just got here," Hinata answered, cradling some flowers in her arms. "I, I wanted to visit Neji-ni-san for a bit."

"Oh, all right." Tenten nodded slowly, unsure of what else to say. She stepped aside, to give Hinata some room. "Do you—need some privacy? I can go—"

"It's all right. I won't be here long." The raven-haired girl gave her a small smile before gently placing the flowers down by her cousin's tombstone.

Tenten watched for a moment, then turned to look away before a stray tear managed to trail down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away in frustration, closing her eyes in a vain attempt to remember better times, better days.

* * *

><p><em>He hardly ever smiled.<em>

_ But when he did, it was more than beautiful. And a lot of times, it was at her, and when he was around her. She would never admit out loud to anyone how much she treasured this, however._

_ "Tenten?"_

_ "Yeah?"_

_ "Great job today."_

_ And she would feel happy—almost, exhilarated. They were such simple words, but he gave them special meaning. She wished that she could return this happiness…but never knew how._

_ "Tenten."_

_ "Tenten?"_

_ "Tenten!"_

* * *

><p>"I'm here. I'm right here, Neji—!" She abruptly sat up in bed, out of breath. The silence rang in her ears after her outburst. It was still in the middle of the night.<p>

When Tenten finally calmed down, she slowly laid her head back onto her pillow.

_I shouldn't have gone to see him_, she thought as she stared up at the dark ceiling. _I was doing just fine until I went to his_… She took in a deep breath. _I'm so stupid. Hopeless_.

"I'm going to put him out of my mind," she said aloud, unsure of why she was talking to herself. This was the last straw. She couldn't take this any longer. "I have to forget about Neji. I have to."

Tenten closed her eyes, not really feeling any better than before.


	2. Desperation

**Desperation**

"How did it go?"

Naruto was peering at her over their freshly made breakfast, his bright blue eyes filled with that usual spark of eagerness of curiosity that he always had. Hinata couldn't help but smile at him as she set down her bowl of homemade ramen and joined him at the table.

"Well—I wasn't alone. Someone was there already when I got there."

"Really?" Naruto hungrily slurped down some noodles, and she couldn't help but laugh a little before continuing.

"Yeah. It was Tenten."

He slowly lowered his chopsticks. "Tenten? Is she—all right? Why was she there?"

Hinata took a tiny bite of pickled radish. "I…don't know. She seemed okay. I wonder why she was there, too…it was kind of out of the blue. It's been a year since Neji-nii-san—" Her breath caught sharply in her throat, and she quickly reached for her glass of water.

"Hina." Naruto gently reached across the table to take her hand in his. "Are you okay?"

Hinata breathed in deeply before meeting his gaze. His eyes always turned a shade darker whenever he was serious.

"I-I'm all right," she answered, and squeezed his hand. "I have you."

Naruto grinned at her—that warm smile she loved so much—and squeezed her hand back. "Well, I'm lucky enough to have you…_and _your delicious ramen!"

She giggled, and then picked up her chopsticks. "Oh, Naruto-kun…"

* * *

><p>Tenten woke up later than usual, feeling more fatigued from waking up in the middle of the night. She slowly made her way to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face.<p>

When she saw her reflection in the mirror, however, she stopped to take a closer look at herself. _Is that really me_?

Her chocolate brown eyes were slightly bloodshot, and there were dark circles beneath them that accentuated their redness. Her face was a few shades paler than normal, and there were small marks on her left cheek from the creases in her pillowcase.

Tenten had never seen herself look so terrible—except for that one time.

_"Neji's dead."_

_ "N-Neji? He's d—"_

_ It hurt, but she held it in while she had to be around everyone. She did her very best to remain emotionless._

_ As soon as she was finally alone, however, she completely lost control of herself._

_ She ran—a waterfall of tears streaming down her face and her breathing ragged, uneven. Trees whizzed by as she ran, and everything was a blur. When she eventually stopped, she fell to the ground and her huge scroll that had been attached to her back landed onto the ground with a resounding thud. She curled up into a tight ball on the cold, hard ground, the pain inside of her finally surfacing and crashing down on her in massive waves. It was drowning her, and she wanted nothing else but to have it stop, to just succumb to the darkness and cease to exist._

_ Tenten cried so much that she shook uncontrollably all over. The loud sounds of her sobbing were so foreign, so terrifying. This wasn't like her. She clenched her fists so tightly that her fingernails dug into her palms, drawing out some blood._

_ But she didn't feel this. She felt nothing, and everything, all at once._

When Tenten finally brought herself back to the present moment, she found that her head was in her hands and she was trembling, barely able to stand on her feet.

She carefully wiped her tear-stained eyes and steadied her breathing before raising her head back up to look into the mirror.

God, she looked like hell. This was too much.

"I can't take this anymore," she said to herself, slowly regaining her composure. "Neji isn't coming back. And he doesn't run my life!" Tenten gripped onto the edges of the sink, her knuckles turning white. "I can't do this anymore. I'm going to need closure. This—ends today."

Even though she had convinced herself last night to put the Hyuuga boy out of her mind—and life—the night before, she knew that she couldn't simply leave things like this.

Tenten took in a deep breath, and then turned on the sink to wash the tears off of her face.

_I'm going to have to see him one last time._

_ I have to set things straight_.

* * *

><p>The cloaked figure watched from behind some abandoned stacked crates as Tenten left her apartment, waiting until the girl got a reasonable distance away before stealthily following after her.<p>

_Don't you worry, girl._

_ Your pain and suffering will soon be over_.

* * *

><p>Tenten found herself once again in the presence of the deceased Hyuuga's grave, twice within the past twenty-four hours.<p>

"This is really pathetic, you know," she remarked as she plopped down onto the grass. "Are you trying to ruin my life on purpose?"

Silence. This was normal, though. She felt incredibly stupid, but knew that this was the only way she'd feel better. The sun felt warm on her back, and eventually she relaxed a little, her voice softening.

"Neji…" She closed her eyes. "Please, can you leave me alone? I can't…I can't be strong when you're still on my mind, in my heart…" Her hands gripped the blades of grass near her feet, but then she slowly loosened her grip, trying to stay calm.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I should've…I took you for granted…since you were so strong, so talented…I never thought you would…" Tenten paused, waiting for these waves of emotions to pass. "If only I had been there with you till the very end…then maybe, you would've known how much I l—"

Suddenly her eyes popped open and she quickly got to her feet, whirling around to throw one of her kunai knives at the intruder.

"I know you're there," she said boldly, now reaching for her big scroll. "Show yourself!"

A dark, cloaked figure finally emerged from behind a nearby tree, his or her face completely hidden within the folds of the hood.

Tenten narrowed her eyes, defiantly standing her ground. "Who are you? What do you want?"

What the mysterious figure said to this was not what she expected at all.

"What if I told you, young Tenten, that Neji Hyuuga could be brought back?"


	3. Clarity

**Clarity**

Tenten stared at the cloaked stranger before her in disbelief. "W-What?"

"You want Neji back—don't you?"

The words finally pieced together and made sense in her head, and she slowly narrowed her eyes. "Wait," she said, "who are you, and how do you know my name…and Neji's?"

A soft breeze rustled the leaves in the trees, sounding like a soft whisper. Tenten waited for a response, and was about to say something else when there was none—until the mysterious figure finally spoke again.

"I can bring Neji back. He can live again."

Tenten stared at the stranger, and then scoffed. "That's impossible. He's—"

"Dead? Perhaps…but he doesn't have to remain that way."

"Look," she remarked, shaking her head at the absurdity of it all. "I don't know what you're talking about, or who you are, but I really should—" She stopped abruptly, and her eyes widened.

_No…it can't be_.

"Neji?"

He stood in front of her, with those unmistakable pale eyes. She felt her heart begin to race, and slowly raised a hand to touch him, to see if he really was here in front of her.

He smiled, which he rarely did, and then disappeared almost as soon as he had appeared. Tenten felt her hand move through the now-empty space where he had been standing, and instantly felt despair when she realized he was gone.

"I can bring him back to the world of the living," the stranger repeated, breaking her out of her stunned and disappointed reverie. "But there is a cost."

Tenten slowly looked over to the cloaked figure, her pride and all sense of forgetting the Hyuuga boy now lost.

So for once, instead of ignoring her weakness, she decided to take chances and embrace it.

* * *

><p>Sakura let out an exasperated sigh as she flipped through the stack of files she had just been handed. "All of them?"<p>

Lady Tsunade nodded at her. "Yes, all of them. No later than tomorrow, please." The brusque blonde quickly walked out of the room, more than likely to attend to more pressing matters. Sakura pulled her hair up into a ponytail and sat down at the desk before her, dropping the offensive pile of tedious work that was in her hands onto its surface.

Just as she was finishing up the first file, there was a knock on the door. She looked up just as Kakashi was coming in.

"Are you busy?" He leaned up against the wall on one shoulder, looking down at her.

Sakura slowly put down the file and pen she had been holding. "Um…slightly." _Why is he here? How did he know I was here_?

He then noticed the enormous pile on her desk and chuckled. "Ah. Tsunade-sama got you doing some of her work again?" The silver-haired man shook his head. "Typical."

"Uh…no offense, Kakashi-sensei, but…why are you here?"

"Oh, oh yeah. I'm sorry, Sakura." Even with that mask covering his face like always, she could still see him smile a bit. "I was going to invite you to dinner. My treat."

_Wait…what_? Sakura's heart began to pound as his words slowly sank in. _Is Kakashi-sensei…asking…me…out_? The mere thought of it was so surreal, so crazy, that she almost forgot to respond. "I—"

"Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke are also coming," Kakashi added, realizing how his previous choice of words had sounded. "I figured, it's been a while since all of use have been together, so—why not?" He glanced back down at the pile of files. "But if you're busy—"

Sakura took in a deep breath and finally gathered her bearings. "No, it's fine…it can wait." She felt a smile creep onto her face in spite of herself. "I'll go."

When Kakashi smiled back at her and gave a little wave before leaving the room, she couldn't help wanting to laugh at herself.

_Of course he wouldn't ask you out, you idiot. Why would he_?

Then another thought occurred to her, one that she never would have expected.

_Do I __**want**__ him to_?

* * *

><p>"What do you want from me?" Tenten asked, still wary of the stranger.<p>

"I seek nothing from you. But I know how much you want Neji to be alive, so I will grant you that desire."

"I d—"

"Remember," the figure in front of her warned, "there will be a consequence to this."

Before she could say anything else, suddenly everything grew black.

* * *

><p>"Tenten…Tenten?"<p>

Somebody was gently shaking her. She slowly opened her eyes. Her vision finally adjusted, and Hinata's face came into view. Someone else was behind Hinata, but she couldn't see his/her face.

"W-What happened to me?" Tenten rubbed her temple, still a bit dazed. Then eventually, everything came back to her.

_It must have been a dream_, she thought to herself. _There's no way that Neji_—

"Is she all right?"

Tenten froze. She knew that voice anywhere. But it wasn't possible…it couldn't be possible.

"I think so," Hinata replied, and she shifted a little so that the unknown person's identity was confirmed.

"N…N…Neji?"


	4. Reset

**Reset**

Tenten couldn't believe her eyes. Neji was now looking at her curiously, those beautiful lavender eyes just as she remembered.

"What?" he replied, leaning towards her. "Why are you staring at me like that, Tenten?"

She finally got a hold of herself and quickly glanced away. "N-Nothing, sorry."

"Everyone's been looking for you, Tenten," Hinata said, "When we noticed you were missing, we were worried!"

"How long was I…missing for?" Tenten was trying hard to keep her focus and attention away from Neji, but she could still feel his eyes on her.

"A few hours, I think—remember, we were supposed to have lunch?" Hinata placed her hand on her shoulder. "Can you get up, or do you need help?"

Tenten slowly sat up. "I'm fine." She snuck a brief glance over at Neji, but noticed that he was no longer looking at her—instead, he was looking off to the side, as if he was bored or needed to be elsewhere. She immediately moved her eyes away and turned back towards Hinata. "I'm sorry. We can go now, if you want."

"O-Oh, okay! As long as you're all right." Hinata got to her feet, and Tenten did the same.

"Tenten?"

"Huh?"

"What happened to you, anyway? What were you doing here, all unconscious?"

"Hey, I have to go back home, Hiashi-sama will need me soon." Neji got to his feet and immediately began to walk away, after Hinata had nodded at him.

"I don't know," Tenten finally responded, still staring after the retreating figure of the Hyuuga boy. "I don't remember."

* * *

><p>By the time dinner rolled around, Sakura had completed almost half of the stack of files that Lady Tsunade had given her. She sighed, knowing that she would be up late tonight to finish, but pushed the dreadful thought aside as she rushed home to change into more presentable clothes.<p>

As she stood in front of her closet pondering on something to wear, her mind wandered back to the awkward episode with Kakashi. _Had he felt it too? He seemed a bit flustered after asking_, she mused, her hand pausing on a plain yellow dress with an A-line skirt.

_Why does it matter_? She grabbed it and quickly changed into it, then stood in front of her floor-length mirror. _You're in way over your head_.

Sakura let down her hair, and carefully scanned over her appearance. _Casual, but cute enough to where it isn't sloppy nor too over the top_.

When she arrived at the restaurant, there was only one empty seat left between Sasuke and Kakashi. She sat down and slowly turned towards her sensei.

"Am I late? I'm sorry if I made you guys wait—"

He turned to look over at her. "Oh no, not at—"

Kakashi stopped abruptly, caught off guard by Sakura's appearance. _Surely she hadn't been wearing that earlier…right_?

Sakura felt a warm blush creep across her face as he stared at her. "Um…Kakashi-sensei?"

He immediately averted his eyes away in embarrassment. "S-Sorry. What do you want to drink?" He picked up his glass of water and finished it off, trying to act nonchalant as if nothing had happened.

"Sakura, you're here!" Naruto leaned over to look at her past Sai and Sasuke, with a big grin on his face.

"Hello, Sakura," Sai greeted her politely, absorbed in sketching something on his napkin.

"Hey." Sasuke barely glanced over at her, aloof as always.

Sakura didn't really pay attention to this, her eyes still on Kakashi, who was concentrating on the menu in front of him. _He was staring at me so intensely_, she thought as she moved her eyes back down to the menu in front of her. _Why did my face get so hot?_

_ Why do I care so much_?

She took in a deep breath and tried to focus on the dinner.

* * *

><p>Later that day, Tenten found that she was low on groceries, so she couldn't make dinner yet until she went out and bought some more.<p>

As she was leaving her apartment, the day's events replayed in her mind.

Neji was back, and everyone was acting normal about it. _It's like he never even died in the first place…but…didn't that mysterious person say that there would be a consequence_?

_What is it_?

Tenten was picking out a few apples at the market when she accidentally dropped the ones she already had in her bag onto the floor.

"Ugh," she exclaimed in annoyance, and bent down to retrieve them.

When she stood back up, an outstretched hand holding a green apple was in front of her.

"You forgot one." Neji was looking at her, his face as indecipherable as ever. Tenten slowly took it, her hand slightly brushing against his as she did so. He didn't seem to notice this, however.

"Thanks," she said, wondering where he had come from and why she felt so nervous all of a sudden.

"How are you feeling?' he asked, his hypnotizing pale eyes still on her.

She shifted her bag to her other arm. "I'm fine. What…what are you doing here? Not to be rude."

"I was just passing by, but then I saw you."

A blush made its way onto her face, despite her efforts to stay calm around Neji. "O-Oh—really?"

"Were you always this clumsy, Tenten?" Suddenly, he was smiling at her, teasing her. She never knew how much she had missed it.

"Of course not!" She argued back, defiantly staring him down and momentarily forgetting her nerves. "I could take you down, Hyuuga Neji!"

He laughed a little, a melodious sound. "Really. We'll see about that, then—tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Now she was confused.

"I think you could use some training," Neji stated, the smile on his face already fading away. "Besides, it's been a while since our team has met up together."

"Oh—okay." She didn't know why but she felt slightly disappointed that they wouldn't be alone. _Of course not_, _what were you expecting_?

_Wait—what_?

"See you tomorrow, then." Neji nodded at her, and then turned to walk away.

All Tenten could do was stare after him, wondering what had just happened and what in the hell was wrong with her.

_You asked for this_, she thought, and then couldn't help but smile to herself.


	5. Mixed Signals

**Mixed Signals**

Tenten slept soundly for the first time in weeks. Her usual nightmares didn't plague her mind, and she woke up feeling completely refreshed.

It still didn't make much sense to her, how Neji had returned simply as if he had never died. Even Hinata had acted like everything was normal from the start. _What did that mysterious stranger do, exactly? And why_?

She knew none of the answers to these questions, but didn't really care. Everything was going to get better from here on out.

Or so it seemed.

* * *

><p>Hinata knocked on Naruto's door later that morning, her heart fluttering in both nervousness and exhilaration within her chest. Even to this day, she couldn't help it when it came to Naruto. They always had breakfast together every other day—and besides, <em>someone <em>had to keep him from sleeping in too late.

It took a few minutes, but finally Naruto answered the door, a slight look of disorientation on his face.

"Mmm…good morning, Hina." He rubbed his eyes and smiled at her sheepishly. "Sorry…can you let me shower and change real quick first?"

Hinata couldn't help but smile back. "Sure, Naruto-kun."

While her sleepyhead dork of a boyfriend went to do those things, she washed the dishes that were in the sink and began to prepare their breakfast. _Naruto can be so messy_, she shook her head and chuckled to herself.

"Wow! Hinata, you always overdo it with these meals." Naruto walked into the room, his hair still dripping wet from the shower.

She blushed a little before taking a seat at the table. "N-Not really. You feel better now?"

"How could I not?" he exclaimed, sitting down across from her. "I'm about to eat delicious food—and you're here with me. Could things be any better?"

"Oh, stop," she said, giggling and shaking her head at him in embarrassment. She held up the pitcher of orange juice and offered it to him. "Want some?"

"Sure." Naruto was already halfway done with his meal. _Of course_.

Hinata was still smiling at him. "Oh, yeah…how was dinner last night, Naruto-kun?"

"It was pretty good! I always like it when the four of us are together—it feels right. It feels like the old times, as if nothing had ever gone wrong." He was looking into his now-empty glass, with a small smile on his face. "I'm glad that things have finally been back to how they should be."

Hinata had stopped eating momentarily to watch him as he said all of this, still to this day in awe of how amazing he was, inside and out. She knew how important reuniting and restoring team seven had been to him, and how much he had been through up until now.

She slowly reached across the table to take his hand in hers, and held on tight.

"That's good to hear," she said softly as he glanced up at her in surprise. "I'm glad."

* * *

><p>"Dammit—out of chicken again," Sakura muttered to herself as she closed the refrigerator door in exasperation. "Looks like I have to make a trip to the market!"<p>

Within minutes she was dressed properly and out the door. This wasn't exactly what she had in mind for spending her day off, but it couldn't be helped. Like always, it was hustle and bustle in the streets, but that didn't prevent her from spotting a familiar figure with distinct gray hair amongst the crowd.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

He slowed to a stop and looked up from the book he had been reading. _Typical_. "Oh, Sakura. What are you doing here?"

"I'm picking up a few necessary grocery items—what about you? How on earth are you reading like that walking with all these people around?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I am a highly skilled and mighty shinobi, you know," he joked, and both of them laughed a little. Then there was awkward silence.

It was obvious that things had been a bit uncomfortable between them lately. Although neither one of them was one-hundred percent sure of why exactly that was, it still needed to be addressed and resolved, so that everyone could move on with their lives. Kakashi was about to be the first one to do this, but then a new voice interrupted their silence.

"Hey, it's you two."

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise when she saw who it was. "S-Sasuke-kun?"

"Sakura. Can I talk to you?" He didn't even look at or acknowledge their sensei, who was standing there right next to her.

Kakashi let out the breath he had been holding in to prepare for what he was about to say to Sakura. _What? Why is he here now? What does he want with her_?

Then, a more question came to his mind—

_Why do I feel…so protective of her_?

* * *

><p>"Tenten! You are late!" Lee immediately greeted her with this as soon as she arrived, already hard at work on one of his skills. "You can't possibly be a successful ninja warrior like that!"<p>

"L-Late?" Tenten stared at him in bewilderment. "I'm right on time!"

"Ignore him," Neji remarked, wiping away a drop of sweat that had already formed on his brow. "He's extra sprightly in the morning—which also means extra annoying."

"Hey! That is no way to—"

"Just get back to your absurd training or whatever. I don't want to hear anymore."

Tenten chuckled to herself, and then thought she caught a glimpse of a tiny smirk on Neji's face. It quickly disappeared, however, and she sighed to herself in slight disappointment. _Go figure_.

"Hey, Tenten."

"Hmm?" She glanced over at Neji, who now had his eyes fixed on her.

"So…weren't you gonna show me what you've got today? I think I recall you challenging me yesterday."

_Me, against Hyuuga Neji_?

It was like—comparing apples and oranges. She already knew that she was no match for him.

But that didn't stop her from trying.

"Fine! Let's do it." She immediately unrolled her scroll, ready to unleash a deadly barrage of weapons. Neji activated his Byakugan and immediately came after her without hesitation.

A few minutes into the fight, however, Tenten suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest that caused her to fall to her knees in response. "Ow! Dammit."

"Tenten!" Neji stopped, and was now running towards her. "Hey—what's wrong with you?"

She clutched her shirt tightly in one hand, and slowly reached out towards him with the other before collapsing to the ground. "Ne…ji…"

_Help me_…

Everything turned black.


End file.
